The Barbet is a French dog with a French name since the middle ages.Le Barbet a un nom français depuis le moyen age..

There have been historical references to the type of dog being part of British history, but as a rough water dog, not a Barbet.

It has evolved over the centuries as a Barbet, father of many breeds, of which the poodle is one. This took place slowly but surely in the mid-1800's to what it was qualified as in 1891 as a Griffon d'arrêt.

By the early 1900's the Barbet was not longer qualified as a Caniche/Poodle. It had become a griffon.Keep in mind that Emmanuel Boulet spent 20 years trying to eliminate the white/ fawn combinations from his Griffon Boulet and at the same time baron Korthals was looking for a light colored dog. The Korthals has hardly changed since it was created in the late 19th century.